Left parties begin talks with Third Front

With the government toying with the idea of a brief winter session of Parliament soon after Diwali, Left parties have initiated talks with the Third Front on a possible floor strategy against the controversial Indo-US nuclear deal.

CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat held a meeting with Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh and his TDP counterpart N Chandrababu Naidu and was said to have discussed floor coordination.

The parleys came at a time when a growing unease has been witnessed in the ruling UPA on the nuclear issue with non-Congress constituents of the alliance having certain reservations and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh reportedly expressing his disappointment over their attitude.

SP General Secretary Amar Singh, at whose residence the meeting was held, described Left parties as "natural allies".

The Third Front is christened as the United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA).

The UNPA is for a Joint Parliamentary Committee to be formed on the nuclear deal, a demand supported by opposition BJP.